1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to welding of tubular members and more specifically to positively locating tubular members of rectangular cross section and providing an economical, high quality weld.
2) Related Art
Welded frames such as used in the manufacture of agricultural tillage equipment typically include a number of T-joints created by laterally joining a square cut tube with an equal height rectangular or square cut tube (see tubes 10 and 12, respectively, of FIG. 1). As can be appreciated from FIG. 1, the mating of the square cut end on the tube 10 to the varying radius or rounded corner of the adjoining tube leaves a relatively large, variable gap 14 which must be filled with weld material to produce a quality weld. The thicker the walls of the tubes, the larger the radius will be, and use of fill material and numerous passes of weld are required to provide a good joint. A weak weld joint often results when care is not taken to fill the large variable gap 14.
Accurate positioning of the tubes 10 and 12 require large elaborate weld fixtures with structural locators located as close to the joints as possible. The fixture typically hinders weld gun accessibility to the joints, which results in poor, missing or expensive welds.